good food with simple ingredients

This is a very special Fiesta Friday, we have lost a dear friend, Selma from Selma’s table succumbed to cancer on July 4th. I never had the pleasure of meeting her personally and only knew her through her blog, we exchanged a few emails she was encouraging me about my sour dough starter. Her starter made it’s way around the blogging community, she was generous with her time and advise and talent.

Her recipes were rustic and full of flavor. She was a great recipe writer, developer, photographer and of course an amazing cook, you can tell she cooked with love. As many of you know I am very active as a contributor at Food52, when I saw that her amazing chicken dish was a finalist in the contest for “The best one pot meal” I literally jumped for joy. I saved the recipe meaning to try it, but life got in the way and I forgot about it. It was a well deserved win for Selma, this dish is incredible. I mean INCREDIBLE, I kid you not it is so loaded with flavor when you take your first bite all you can do is close your eyes and thank her. If you are not vegetarian make this dish NOW, it’s that good. If you are vegetarian visit Elaine’s amazing blog Foodbod and make the dish that inspired Selma’s contest winning recipe

If you have never visited Selma’s Table please do, make one of her fantastic recipes and you will see what I mean when I say what a wonderfully talented cook she was. When the editors at Food52 found out about Selma’s passing they decided to post a tribute to her highlighting several of her recipes, look for it today on Food52 (here it is). This week along with Angie@The Novice Gardener/Fiesta Friday we are joined by Elaine@foodbod, Jhuls@The Not So Creative Cook, and Sue@birgerbird to remember Selma and honor her life as we cooks do best by preparing Selma’s recipes. If you would like to participate in this special tribute to Selma simply click on the link above, you don’t have to cook if you have a poem or anything that you feel celebrates Selma’s life it would be great.

Selma, you were/are loved by so many and your presence will be sorely missed.

Selma’s Extraordinary Marinated Chicken,potatoes and chickpeas

Extraordinary Marinated and Roasted Chicken, Potatoes, and Chickpeas

By Selma | Selma’s Table

Food52 Editors’ Comments: WHO: Divasparkle is an adventurous cook who hails from across the pond, in London. WHAT: A comforting one-dish meal with a sauce built in. HOW: If you’ve read the title of this recipe, you know the method — just marinate, roast, and eat. WHY WE LOVE IT: This is the ultimate dinner-party dish; it will taste like you’ve been working on it all day, but you’ll know the truth: You spent 10 minutes mixing the marinade and turning on the oven, and had the rest of the day to yourself. Tell them, or don’t; it’s up to you.

After its stint in the oven, the marinade cooks down to this incredible, sticky savoriness around the potatoes and chicken. And when combined with the crispy bits of chickpeas, tender chicken, and marinade-sodden potatoes, it’s heaven on a plate. This is adapted from Elaine Boddy’s “Lebanese Inspired Potatoes and Chickpeas” from her lovely blog “foodbod.”

Serves 4 to 6

400 grams chickpeas (about one 15-ounce can)

800 grams (1 3/4 pounds) potatoes

1 medium head of garlic, cloves separated

8 bone in, skin on, chicken thighs

For the marinade:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 to 3 lemons

1 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 tablespoon buttermilk

1 teaspoon harissa paste (or to your taste)

1/2 teaspoon chile flakes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Salt and pepper to season

To finish/serve:

2 teaspoons dry-roasted whole cumin seeds

80 grams chopped coriander leaves and stalks (or one small handful)

300 milliliters Greek yogurt or tzatziki (or enough for each serving to have a generous dollop)

The day before, rinse and drain the chickpeas. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3 inch chunks.

Give the lemons 30 seconds or so in the microwave to help release more juice, or roll on a flat surface while applying a little pressure. Slice in half and squeeze out as much juice as you can. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Place the chicken, chickpeas, potatoes, and garlic in a large freezer bag and pour in the marinade. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Flop it around a bit to make sure that the marinade gets everywhere. Place on a plate or in a bowl and pop in the fridge to marinate for a day. Turn the bag over whenever you open the fridge over the next 24 hours. (Alternatively, you can just mix the chicken, marinade, and other ingredients in a bowl, and place that bowl, covered, in the fridge, mixing occasionally as it marinates.)

An hour or so before you are ready to eat, heat the oven to 200º C (375º F). Remove the bag from the fridge and tumble the contents into a roasting dish large enough for everything to be spread out. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the dish tightly with foil and cook for 1 hour. Remove the foil and cook for another 15 minutes or so, until the chicken skin and potatoes are crispy and cooked through, and the chickpeas get a little crunchy. Watch carefully to make sure the marinade does not go from gooey and delicious to a burnt crisp. Remove from the oven and scatter over the roasted cumin seeds and chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt or tzatziki on the side, and prepare to be worshipped.

OMG, it was amazing. I used a whole chicken cut up and micro potatoes, left out the pepper flakes because I am a wimp and even with those minor changes it was one of the best chicken dishes I think I have had.

This is such an incredible dish, Suzanne. I was just going to ask Selma about joining Food52, but as you said, life got in the way. Now that she’s not here to tell me about it, maybe you don’t mind telling me about Food52? Thanks for joining her tribute. x

Thank you Jhuls, you definitely should join the Food52 community, great recipes, nice people and I promise it’s totally painless. You do not get bombarded with useless stuff. Its a great site. Have been a member since 2011. You will love it.

Suzanne, my dear friend I havereinstated on Tasty Kitchen.com Selma’s tribute as well as recipes. For those of you who are not aware Tasty Kitchen.com is a Public-Community Recipe Sharing Site and our Dear Selma was a member since December 2013. Her recipes can be viewed by simply joining free – you do not have to submit your own recipes to this site to be a member!

This is a must try recipe from Selma. Your rave reviews as well as Food 52 confirm it. Cooking from her recipes is a wonderful way of remembering our dear Selma and your post is a beautiful tribute to her. It also speaks volume of your own warm heart, Suzanne. XOXO

Thanks for posting this winning recipe of Selma’s – I can see why! I am mainly getting mail from their Food 52’s store – I love unusual kitchen gadgets! Will have to join something besides Fiesta Friday, however, that has kept me very happy and busy.

Lovely Suzanne. I will try this recipe for sure. Just today I visited Selma’s blog (again & again) reading through her posts and remembering what an amazing person she truly was. Thank you for posting this. I look forward to putting it together, all the while thinking of Selma…

JUST LOVELY Suzanne, I’m enjoying going through all the Selma posts, such warm, fuzzy feelings come through, she was so loved and admired by all. You’ve brought a beautiful recipe of hers, I know how much she loved cooking chicken, and this is one dish I’d like to try too. We’ve all lost such a close friend and blogger, she will sorely be missed. Thanks for writing so many wonderful things about her, it makes me smile and nod in agreement.

Such a beautiful tribute to Selma´s work Suzanne. I remember how her recipe struck me by the use she made of Greek yoghurt spread on it, so suitable for this spicy recipe, exactly the way I do at home.

Suzanne this dish looks amazing and I am going to have to make it! What a lovely tribute to Selma. She meant so much to so many, it’s truly remarkable, and she will be missed. I really like food52 but haven’t gotten into the community. I am overwhelmed with the amazing recipes they feature.

Suzanne, this is such a lovely tribute to Selma. I was so saddened to hear the news this week that she had passed away. Her recipes and writing will be a lasting legacy and will I’m sure be treasured by so many.

This recipe,like so many of Selma’s dishes are just full of flavour and yes it sounds incredible! This is a lovely blog, it feels so sad that she isn’t with us and I am so glad we are all coming together! x

Reblogged this on SurreyKitchen and commented:
I wanted to share this post from http://www.apuginthekitchen.com in memory of Selma. I didn’t know Selma personally but I enjoyed chatting to her through our blogs. She will be greatly missed by the food blogging community. Emma.

I’m glad you liked my idea Suzanne. If you want to guest blog for surreyKitchen in the future just get in touch. I’m happy for you to guest blog about anything you think our readers would find interesting. Best wishes. Emma xx

This is one of Selma’s recipes that I’ve tried and is a huge hit with our family! I also change things up sometimes and use sweet potatoes, green beans and slightly different seasoning. Such a great recipe from an inspiring cook.

This was such a sweet post, Suzanne! It is amazing to read how one person affected so many, and a lot of them she had never even met. The recipe truly does sound wonderful. It sounds so flavorful. I noticed it has harissa paste in it. I keep seeing that ingredient and want to try it. I have never eaten or cooked with it.

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